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Rudel Logs a Hectic Day In Kennedy Center Roles

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The busiest man with the largest responsibilities in Washington's new John F. Kennedy Center for the Per forming Arts, which is swarming with busy people preparing for its opening weeks next month, is unques tionably Julius Rudel, the mu sic director.

To talk to Mr. Rudel even on the telephone, you have to make an appointment a day in advance. And when you examine his schedule on a recent typical day, you won der how he finds time for even a brief telephone con versation, let alone to eat and sleep.

On the day in question Mr. Rudel was in the orchestra pit of the center's opera house from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., conducting an orches tra rehearsal of Handel's “Ariodante,” which he has chosen and edited for what is probably its American premiere on Sept. 14.

Confers on Flexitones

From 1 to 3 P.M. Mr. Rudel occupied an upstairs rehear sal room where he worked with Arlene Saunders, Carol Smith and Justino Diaz, who will have leading roles in Alberto Ginastera's “Beatrix Cenci,” which was commis sioned by the Opera Society of Washington and which Mr. Rudel will conduct on Sept. 10 in its world premiere.

At 3 P.M. he conferred with the orchestra manager and some of the percussionists to choose the three flexitones needed for “Beatrix Cenci.” Flexitones are sheets of metal that make whining sounds when vibrated, and Ginastera wants them to suggest the baying of dogs.

“The first flexitones I heard,” Mr. Rudel observed, “gave off sounds so high you would have thought we were dealing with Pekingese. What we finally chose were the old musical saws that have big whimpering noises.”

With the baying‐dog prob lem disposed of, Mr. Rudel moved into a larger rehearsal room where he directed a workout of the musical en semble, including the chorus, of “Cenci” until 5 P.M.

From 5 to 7 P.M. he turned his attention once more to “Ariodante,” running through a rehearsal of the recitatives. He himself will play the harpsichord for the recita tives during the performance, and he wanted to acquaint the cello and bass players who will accompany him as well as some of the singers with the tempos he proposes to take.

From 7:30 to 8:30 P.M. he had the use of the Opera House stage again (rehearsals for the center's opening on Sept. 8 of Leonard Bernstein's New Mass, commissioned for the occasion and requiring several hundred participants, had occupied the main stage and pit most of the time). At his rehearsal Mr. Rudel had the chorus for “Ariodante” in front of the stage, and he conducted from the pit.

From 8:30 to 10:30 P.M. Mr. Rudel took part in a stag ing rehearsal for “Ariodante,” which is being directed by Tito Capobianco, stage direc tor, Mr. Rudel's associate at the New York City Opera in Lincoln Center.

From 10:30 P.M. to mid night Mr. Rudel was on the telephone with the staff of the New York City Opera, which he has headed with distinction and which is open ing its season at the New York State Theater Wednes day night.

“It's a lucky thing I have so good a staff in New York,” he said. “Otherwise I don't know how I'd get through the next few weeks.” Mr. Rudel will not return to con ducting in New York until October.

Meals? There is time to nibble at a sandwich in breaks during rehearsals. That is, there is time if an urgent phone call does not take precedence.

During the typical day Mr. Rudel described he had to get on the telephone to shout at Boosey and Hawkes, Ginastera's publishers, for parts of the opera score not yet in the hands of the per formers.

“Ginastera, who will be here any day now, has been in Geneva in Switzerland fin ishing the opera,” Mr. Rudel said. “He air mails sections to his publishers in New York and they send them down to Washington by spe cial messenger. Would you believe it? We have yet to see any portion of the full orchestra score of the second act.”

Mr. Rudel became music adviser to the Kennedy Cen ter about three years ago at the urging of Roger L. Ste vens, chairman of the board, and the widow of the Presi dent for whom the center is named. He declined to leave his post at the New York City Opera to take over full control of the Kennedy Cen ter, but a year and a half ago he began intensive planning and agreed to accept the re sponsibilities of active music director.

Worried About Noise

As music director, he has had to concern himself in recent weeks with such mat ters as a shakedown of the opera house stage, worrying about such details as the amount of noise made by the curtain going up and coming down. He has had to make sure that rehearsal space— “fortunately the facilities are adequate for normal periods, but this is not a normal peri od” — is fairly apportioned. Since guests receive first con sideration, the other day he conducted an orchestra re hearsal in the lofty long foyer while workmen ham mered at one end and tourist parties kept passing through.

If you think I've been busy up to now,” Mr. Rudel said, “listen to my schedule between Sept. 10 and 14. On the 10th I conduct the pre miere of ‘Cenci.’ On the 11th I rehearse ‘Ariodante’ all day. On the 12th I conduct Handel in the morning, a matinee of ‘Cenci’ and a predress rehears al of ‘Ariodante’ in the eve ning. On the 13th I rehearse the recitatives in ‘Ariodante’ in the morning, a full dress rehearsal in the afternoon and a public performance of ‘Cenci’ in the evening. On the 14th I fly to New York to listen to dress rehearsal of a New City Center produc tion of Benjamin Britten's ‘Albert Herring’ and fly back to conduct the premiere of ‘Ariodante’ in Washington in the evening.”

Hardly pausing for breath, Mr. Rudel continued, “Oh yes, now and then I must seize a moment to consult on the phone with people in Cincin nati where we are planning the next May Festival. And I am making plans for the long‐range future of Kennedy Center.”

A pet project of Mr. Rudel's is a survey of the American musical theater. “Lost in the Stars,” the Kurt Well mu sical based on Alan Paton's “Cry the Beloved Country,” will be revived early next year and in the following seasons will come “Of Thee Sing,” “Guys and Dolls,” works by Jerome Kern, Hart and Rodgers, perhaps even Romberg.

“I'm not a chauvinist,” Mr. Rudel said, “but we have ar ranged to bill the opening weeks at Kennedy Center on a broad foundation of Ameri can artists. It's time to show that they have arrived, and this is the perfect place for the demonstration.”

At 50, Mr. Rudd, silver haired, broad‐chested, has the energy of a dynamo. How ever, at the pace he has been moving recently, some of his colleagues in Washington and New York are beginning to think about slowing him down. But can they?

A version of this archives appears in print on August 30, 1971, on Page 34 of the New York edition with the headline: Rudel Logs a Hectic Day In Kennedy Center Roles. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe